The sharp cookie-dough nose

And so here i was, studying for my mids and preparing for my 830am presentation at 2 in the morning, when i caught that distinct whiff that i never ever forgot.

THAT of a COCKROACH!

So i turned around and looked for it high and low on my messy table, and all the time i used my nose to smell the items on which the cockroach has been on to trace its whereabouts. Alas, i traced it onto my FIIM notes, but it still wasnt there! So i stepped back, figuring that it must have either escaped into my cupboard, or out of my window. THEN, i caught the whiff again! And there it was, right at my blind spot where i first caught the smell of the dirty pest.

So i did the most humane thing, using insecticide and letting it struggle for its life for probably the next hour, instead of giving it an instant death by squashing it.

God damn it, i hate these things.



Well so how did i acquire such an acute sense of smell toward the humble little roach? Basically, the single storey post war terrace house that i grew up in was quite old and run down, and it has this sewer right in the middle of the kitchen. Being curious kids, me and my brother used to open the sewers (even though we eventually knew what was coming) to lure cockroaches out so that we could step on it using our "cha kiak". The smell from the sewers reek of roach smell so strong, that in an area infested with roaches, i can spot it right away.

Another trick we used was that of heated pandan leaves (yes, pandan leaves, in case you didnt know), and we threw it down the sewers before covering it. Soon you can see tens of cockroaches struggling to get out only to meet doom under our feet.

We even drowned cockroaches then using McDonald's toys.

I think i somehow vaguely remember a cockroach showdown with a leech.




Somehow my childhood facination of roaches disintegrated into fear of these irritating pesty creatures.